Joaitha Harris And The Olympians
by shootingstarx7
Summary: Joaitha Harris has no family, as far as she's concerned. Her own mother disowned her at a young age and sent her to a school for the mentally unstable because she saw monsters. What will happen when Jo finds out who her real father is? first fanfic! r&r?
1. It Hits Me

**1. It hits me. **

I've never hated any place in the world more than Cahill Academy for the Mentally Unstable.

It's not because of the dimly lit rooms, with only reclining chairs since all the teachers are afraid some psycho kid might kill someone with a desk. It's not even the fact that I've been here since I was eight-confined here like a prison. Surprisingly, it's not even because my own mother made me come here in the first place-she handed me over without a second thought.

The main reason I hate it here so much, is because I'm not "mentally unstable" in the least bit. Not at all.

Okay, yeah, I know. It sounds really bad. I slice a hole in a monster or a demon at least once a month, and I have odd dreams. I always tell people about everything-and nobody ever believes me. I get it. When someone comes up to you and says: _Hey, I just got attacked by a huge snake with three heads! _You tend to think they're lying. So many weird things also happen to me besides that, but trust me, you don't want to know.

So that leaves me here, in the dining hall at Cahill. I sit in the corner, alone, eating my mashed potatoes while I watch the rest of my "unstable" classmates. Penny Thompson just tried to feed her mashed potatoes to the empty seat next to her, and ended up knocking the now potato-covered chair onto the floor. Drew Calhoun was pacing back and forth along the wall having a very engaging conversation with himself.

These weren't surprises.

I look at the teachers, who, every once in a while stare at me with concern. Even though each one of them has seen me skewer a monster at least once, none of them seem to find my story plausible. I'm just a crazy psycho student to them. Why should they believe what they see?

Fuming, now that I reminded myself of this, I pulled out my rugged old iPod that my mom had sent me for Christmas a few years ago. It was the first (and last) present I had gotten from her since she shipped me off. It was my older sister Haley's before, so it wasn't much of a gift, but it reminded me of how much I missed my sister.

I was now listening to "Beverly Hills" which Haley always used to sing in the shower.

I watched Penny tip her whole plate onto the blue plastic chair, still lying on the floor. I rolled my eyes, and my face grew red and hot. How did I end up _here_?

Then it hit me.

No, seriously. A humongous furry object came smashing into the wall, sending dust and brick fragments everywhere. It knocked me out of my chair and tried to grab me from behind. I leaped up onto the table, and ran all the way to the other end, patting my pockets profusely.

Here's the thing. A few years ago, when we actually got out of this place for a day, and we went to Boston, which is really close by, and visited some educational places like the science museum and the aquarium. I thought the aquarium was the most boring thing on earth, (since I happen to be sort of ADHD) so I wandered off, while listening to Haley's shower songs. I went to the gift shop, and stuff like that, (but obviously not to get anything since we aren't allowed contraband)…and I was on my way back to catch up to where my group was when I bumped into this guy accidentally.

He was mysterious, especially the way that no matter how hard I strained my brain, I couldn't remember how he looked. He just handed me a penny. "This is very important for you to have," He said, forcing it into my palm, "Use it well," He added, and I get this feeling that maybe he grinned at me.

"Um," was the only thing I said in return. What was I supposed to do with a stupid penny?

I was wide eyed, and started getting this weird anxiety. This guy made me nervous. It was as if I should know him, but I didn't. I tried to get rid of the guy's penny in a nearby fountain but I couldn't. It took me three months to realize that it wasn't a normal penny-it said my name, Joaitha, right under the engraving of Abe Lincoln.

Except it wasn't Abe Lincoln really. I looked closely, and I realized that it was actually some kind of wreath.

Once I saw that, I tried to remember the guy who gave it to me, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't. Once I was sitting in my cell-I mean-dorm bedroom, flipping it around, due to boredom (which, like I said, I experience quite often) and it turned into a huge bronze dagger. It was really scary.

I was mortified, trying to find a way to get rid of it. I searched for places to hide it, but I knew that was no good. The teachers would find it, and they'd send me off to some hospital. There had to be a way…

It was no use. I had given up. I sank down on my bed, and slammed my unoccupied fist into one of my pillows angrily. I squeezed the dagger in my frustration.

The next thing I knew-_wha-la!-_It was a Joaitha penny once again.

Right now, as the monster knocked the table out from under me, sending me flying into a salad bar, the penny came in handy.

I flipped it over quickly, catching the dagger in my fist from behind the salad bar. The thing was coming…I just needed it to come closer, and then I'd stab it right in the chest-

And then it let out a groan, and fell right in front of me, turning to golden dust before my eyes. Two teenagers stood over it. One of them offered me her hand.

I took it and stood up. "I had it, you know," I muttered matter-of-factly.

The two ignored me. They obviously didn't care.

Frustrated, I pulled my long black hair behind my ears, into a ponytail. I got onto my feet and dusted myself off. A nice shower, and a nap, that's what I needed. I turned to leave.

The girl caught me by the arm. "Wait," She ordered. I waited.

She glanced at the guy significantly as if trying to cue him, but he was off in another world. "Percy," She said, waking him up.

He flinched out of his deep thinking. "Oh," he said. Then he turned to me. "You're coming with us," He stated.

"But what about-?" I began to ask, but the blonde-haired girl just waved her hand, and automatically I stopped mid-sentence.

"Don't worry, they'll be taken care of," She assured me. "Just come with us,"

I followed them reluctantly. They led me outside through the hole that the man-bear-thing had conveniently made. When I looked up from the rubble, I couldn't believe what I saw.

At first, it just seemed like a horse-drawn wagon. You know, like the ones from the 1800s that they used before cars were invented. But then it changed...at least I thought it did. Anyway, I realized that now, I was standing in front of a golden chariot pulled by winged horses.

I kid you not.

"Uh," I stammered, while approaching the vehicle. I slowly reached my hand out to touch the horse pulling it, but they guy dragged my hand away.

"We really have to get going," He explained. Then he and the girl helped me into the chariot. The blonde haired girl gave me her hand as the guy stood behind me with his palms out. He was either spotting me, or making sure I didn't make a mad dash back into the school.

I sat in the very back corner of the small golden cart with my knees crossed and up against my chest. The blonde-haired girl took the reins and the guy glanced back at me, probably to make sure I wasn't planning a quick escape.

"Here we go," The girl said as she wrapped the leather rope around each of her hands twice.

"Hold on," The guy said to me, a faint grin on his face.

"What?" I said, but then soon, I figured out why. My stomach lurched violently as we rocketed off of the ground and shot full speed into the sky. I looked back at Cahill Academy, and if I hadn't been so nauseous and afraid, I would have been overjoyed to see it disappearing quickly into nothing.

"Where are we going?" I asked over the sound of the wind rushing past my face, and buzzing in my ears.

"Camp Half Blood," The girl said automatically, still looking straight ahead while steering the flying contraption.

"Camp Half-what?" I asked, but I guess the girl had something against saying things twice. Almost like I had this thing against heights, and maybe a new fear of flying chariots that seemingly exceeded the speed of sound.

I buried my head between my arms, chest and knees, until we stopped moving. Then, when it was safe, I sat up and looked around. The first thing I saw was a large building that slightly resembled an oversized, high class, barn. Then, as I stood up, I saw the cabins. There were at least twenty of them scattered across the peaceful landscape of Camp Something-or-Other, and each one was different.

The guy, Percy, took a deep breath of the air as if it was his first time home from another planet in a millennia. Then he exhaled, un-tensing his muscles. "Here we are," He said. "Let's get you to the big house." He helped me step down off of the golden cart.

So, he and the girl led me straight toward the barn, which had seemed a lot closer from where I'd been sitting previously. Needless to say, we had a few moments for small talk.

"I almost forgot," The girl said, "I'm Annabeth. This is Percy." She offered me her hand, and I shook it.

"What's your name again?" Percy asked me as we walked. I was pretty sure they hadn't even asked me what my name was before.

"Joaitha," I said in a small, but strong voice. That's when we arrived at the Big House. Percy nodded, letting me know he'd heard me.

We walked up a few steps, and commenced onto the wraparound porch, where a friendly game of cards was being played. But as we approached the card game closer and closer, I realized that maybe this card game, despite being friendly, wasn't exactly in the norm.

See, there was this older-looking guy, and he was playing with these teenagers who all looked generally afraid of him. I don't see how they would be, since weirdly enough, all these guys had hairy legs and hooves.

"Hey Mr. D," Percy said to the older-looking guy, and Annabeth unleashed a small, nervous grin.

"Hello, Peter Johnson," He said with a sly smile, "And Mary-Ann!"

Percy shot an annoyed glance at me, as if to give me future advice about Mr. D. I could already tell that he was either senile, or judging by the look on his face, he was just bored and wanting to annoy someone desperately. Maybe he even thought I was confused.

"We brought that new camper," Annabeth said, "Her name's Joaitha. She hasn't been claimed yet."

Claimed? "Well, how old is she?" Mr. D said, glancing significantly at me.

"Thirteen," I said, and I watched everyone's eyes widen briefly. An awkward silence followed. "Is that…bad?" I asked.

"Do you know who your parents are, Joanna?" Mr. D asked me, while shuffling the cards absentmindedly in his hands.

I ignored his purposeful slip. "Well, my Mom's name is Adriane Harris, but I don't talk to her since she basically disowned me when I was-"

He held his hand up to interrupt me, and immediately I realized I had said too much. "Do you know who your father is?"

"Nope," was all I said this time.

Percy and Annabeth exchanged glances. "Well, that's…interesting," Mr. D said, while shuffling his cards once again, though he sounded very uninterested. Then, the game started up like it had been before we'd arrived. Percy and Annabeth led me out not soon after.

They both had nervous expressions on their faces, and it kind of freaked me out. They led me back out into the daylight slowly, as if I was a ticking time bomb that was due to explode any second now. It made me uneasy.

"Am I in-trouble?" I asked with some difficulty.

Percy faked a smile. "No, none at all," He probably lied, "Everything's great."

Annabeth punched him hard in the arm. "Don't _lie _to her!" She said, as he gripped his arm in pain. Then she faced me. "You aren't in trouble, Jo." She said, "Is it okay if I call you Jo?"

I nodded quickly, I didn't really care. I just needed to know what was happening. Luckily for me, Annabeth had more to say. "Great," She said, "Anyway, there's a problem." She looked at me gravely, "Are you absolutely _positive_ you have no clue who your father is?"

"Y-yeah I'm sure," I stammered, reconsidering if I had ever known my father. I had this weird feeling of doubt now, and it just came over me quickly like it was a hurricane. Maybe, I had known my father…

Nah, I probably just made that up.

She looked at me and then at the sky, with a glare on her face like she was really angry all of a sudden. "They promised," She muttered to Percy, "I wonder what's going on up there…"

He shrugged. "I'm sure there's a reason," He said. He looked like he really wasn't sure at all.

"What's going on?" I asked them, and they stared.

"Oh, I forgot." Annabeth said. "There's a reason why you're here, Jo. It's because of your parent-"

"Is this another stupid therapy session about my mom? I_ told_ them, _she_ gave _me_ up. I had _no _problem with the woman! She just couldn't-"  
>"Jo," Percy interrupted, "Not that parent. Your <em>godly<em> parent."

"My godly…" I trailed off, and then I came back. "Is this some kind of _joke?"_

"Are we laughing?" Annabeth asked sarcastically. "We're here for you, Jo. We've been in the same place. We can help you."

"Oh," I said, bringing on the heavy sarcasm, "So I bet _everyone_ in this place has been institutionalized for no reason?"  
>"Something like that, yeah." Percy said in a bored tone.<p>

I stormed off, while having no clue where I was going. I just _went. _

I walked at a speedy pace past many cabins, full of people who looked away from whatever it was they were doing in this God-forsaken place to look at me, the angry girl who doesn't belong with tears in her eyes and everything. What a first impression.

Finally, I found some place to hide near the canoe docks. I sat there, tears running down my face as I skipped rocks across the water. The sun was setting, making it seem golden, serene, like the water was trying to comfort me.

I took a deep breath at that point, sat down, and after wiping the tears from my eyes, I watched the sunset.


	2. Fire Anxiety

**2. Fire Anxiety**

A while after the sun had finally set; I stood up and looked around at my surroundings while climbing on one of the docks. The stars were so bright, in contrast to the dark shade of the sky. The little waves kept rolling in with a soft breeze that gently blew my hair out of my face.

I surely hadn't seen a night like this before in my entire life. I'd been like a prisoner for the last seven and a half years, and right now, I felt free for the very first time. I laid down on my back, and the soft sea aroma soon consumed me. Or maybe, I was consumed by it. My eyes began to close, and I felt myself slowly drifting to sleep, as if my non-existent mother had just sung me a lullaby.

Something jarred me awake quickly, though. It sounded like footsteps coming through the woods behind me. I could hear the chatter from campers as they passed me. I rolled onto the sand beside the dock, and hid. I was good at hiding. You tend to do that when you're surrounded by people who are _really _mentally unstable.

Once it seemed as though the coast was clear, I emerged from my hiding spot, only to lay eyes on a pair of beat up yellow, converse sneakers. My eyes rose to meet an extended hand. Reluctantly, I grabbed hold of it, and whoever it was helped me up.

The helping hand was attached to a guy who seemed about my age. He had long chestnut hair, and piercing eyes in which I couldn't tell whether they were a stony blue or a breathtaking hazel. He was wearing what everyone else was wearing-A camp T-shirt, but I could already tell that he wasn't like any of the other campers. He wasn't even like anyone I'd ever_ known_, now that I thought about it: he didn't just pass me by like all the others, he helped me up.

"Not coming to the fire, new girl?" He asked me, and I stepped backward from him timidly. I never was too good with people, especially when I was upset. I shook my head slowly, and took another step back. Into the water.

Great, I thought. Now my foot was drenched, and I didn't have any clothes to replace my shoe which was probably just soaking through by now, even though strangely it wasn't happening very fast. I got confused, as I stumbled back onto the shore. The guy stepped closer to me, as if to spot me, in case I fell over or something, but I stepped forward, as if to push him away.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" He asked me.

"I don't know," I grumbled faintly, and he laughed. Personally, I didn't think what I said was all that funny, but _whatever._

"I saw you run away," He said, still chuckling, "You were pretty mad."

"Was I? I didn't notice." I muttered sarcastically. I gently pushed him away from me, and started back up the trail into complete darkness, having no idea where I was even going.

"Aw, come on," He said, "What did I say?"

"Nothing," I said, only loud enough for him to hear as I started up the trail. Where the _heck_ was I going?

Now _Chestnut-hair_ was beside me, keeping pace with me, even as I sped up to get away from him so that _maybe_ I might not have to embarrass myself further. "I'm Darren," He said out of the blue, "And you are?"

He seemed like he really wanted to know my name-or he was a really convincing actor-but I ignored him anyway. "'Mind telling me where I am?"

"Camp Half-Blood," He said it like I'd missed something obvious.

"Yeah, I know that, but _where_?" I snapped at Captain Obvious, himself.

"Long Island," He said, his voice shaking slightly underneath his seemingly tough façade.

I just groaned and stormed off up the trail further, plunging deeper into the darkness. Darren followed me like a puppy as I stumbled around in the pitch black. "You know, you're going the wrong way," He said after a while, "If you're trying to get to the fire, that is." I stopped, and turned around to look at him, now that I'd cooled down.

"_Should _I go to the fire?" I asked him, "I mean, do I_ have_ to?"

"Why not?" He asked shrugging. "The whole camp's going to be there. It's fun. We sing songs and make s'mores and the new kids get claimed…"

Claimed. I'd heard that word used here before. "The new kids get _what?_" I asked Darren curiously.

"Claimed," Darren replied. I stared at him blankly for a few moments. He exhaled and shrugged simultaneously in frustration. "It's when your godly parent tells everyone that you're theirs…" The blank look on my face didn't budge. "You mean, you haven't been _claimed _yet?"

I kicked a rock ahead of me on the trail as we continued to walk toward the fire, wherever that was. Surprisingly, my foot didn't seem all that wet anymore. In fact, it was completely dry. Maybe I just hadn't been paying attention to it…

I sighed. "I guess I haven't been," I said sadly, answering Darren's question, but then I caught myself acting vulnerable, and changed. The_ tough Joaitha _side of mekicked in.

"I don't see why it matters, though." Tough Joaitha said, "I mean, I've always been fine on my own." This was sort of the truth. I _had_ survived all of my crazy years at Cahill with no guidance except for those God-forsaken teachers, who'd be overjoyed to unjustly put me in a strait jacket, were it legal.

"Don't you wonder sometimes?" Darren asked calmly, stealing a glance in my direction, forcing Tough Joaitha away. He made me roll over, despite my constant efforts to stay tough.

"Yeah," I admitted openly, honestly. I looked up at the sky, with tears again in my eyes. The trail we were on was thickly covered with trees, but I could still kind of make out the stars. It was comforting to know they were still there…that the constellations were still watching me, as always.

Stars were the only constant thing in my life when I was at Cahill. It was always comforting to know that the stars were always going to be there for me every night, even when my Mom, Dad, and Sister weren't. When the teachers called for lights out, I'd sit for hours, just staring out the barred window at the sparkling sky, thinking about how someday, I might get a closer look at them. Now, they were hidden by a dense cover of trees, but at least I wasn't locked away from them. Thinking about this put me in a better mood by the time Darren and I reached the fire.

"Here we are," Darren said, leading me down the large stone structure that was where the fire was being held. It looked like one of those ancient Greek theaters, except not, well, ruined. It looked like something straight out of Greece itself-with tall, stone columns, and an array of stones that resembled an earlier version of bleachers. Well, maybe it was just me.

Anyway, the whole place was packed with people. It seemed like every single person in this entire place was here. I quickly spotted Percy and Annabeth next to the fire. They were busy tending it, and helping younger campers with their s'mores. I saw Annabeth glance up at me, and I almost hid behind Darren in my guilt.

Darren had seen me tense up. "What's the matter with you?" He asked me, but I shook my head. He shrugged, and continued leading me down the steps into the crowd where I stuck out like a sore thumb.

That's when I started to realize how much attention I was really getting. People all around me were whispering, and staring-even pointing at me! I felt like I had something written on my forehead. Of course I didn't, but I checked anyway just to make sure. I slouched over as I walk, while getting a nervous pins-and-needles feeling all the way down my spine and legs and to my fingertips and toes.

Darren stopped abruptly in front of a rowdy crowd, clad with instruments, noisemakers and songbooks. "I'd like to introduce you to my family," He told me. They must have heard him, because they all quieted down. Then he faced back toward me. "I didn't get your name," He reminded me coolly, and I nodded, remembering that he in fact hadn't.

"It's Joaitha." I said clearly, so he wouldn't screw it up.

"Joaitha, this is my family, the children of Apollo," He said, and then he turned to them, while indicating me politely. "Everyone, this is Joaitha." Hah, he must be joking, I thought. Or they have the coolest cabin name ever: Children of Apollo. It had a nice ring to it, as far as I was concerned.

I waved awkwardly at them as they all said a polite hello. I still felt those pins-and-needles running all over my body and they were making me even more uncomfortable than I was before.

One of Darren's brothers even stood up to greet me. "I'm Will Solace," He said, shaking my hand. "I'm the head counselor of Apollo," He added, to possibly give me some background. I admired the rough string around his neck in which many colorful beads were threaded. Each had a different picture painted on them. I wondered where he'd gotten it.

"I'm Joaitha Harris," I said, and I made sure that was all I said. I'm sure nobody would want to hear me rant about how crazy my childhood was. I'd sound like one of those senile old folks in rest homes who just ramble on and on about their pasts, as though they were still living in it.

I know this from experience, because sometimes the teachers would take us on field trips to rest homes or mental hospitals as if we were previewing our futures. Maybe I was the only one sane enough to see it that way…

I snapped out of my zone, brought on by the deep thinking I'd just accomplished. Darren sat down on the open stone bleacher-thing. He patted the empty spot next to him, saying "Sit down, it's about to start."

So I sat down, as the last few campers at the fire making s'mores retreated back to their seats, and that Mr. D guy had come out. All he had to do was make a presence, and the whole theater fell silent.

"Let's just get on with this," was basically all Mr. D said, just in many more words than that. But that was really all that needed to be said, because the Children of Apollo cabin took over right away.

They were really good singers, the Children of Apollo were. By looking at any one of them, you might have missed that quality at first glance, too. It's hard to explain how good they were. It's something that you'd have to see and hear to believe.

For once in my life, I actually enjoyed something. Boy, was I surprised that the day I had finally found something to be happy about would be today, but I surely wasn't complaining. I looked around at everyone in the theater. If I wasn't dreaming, I would be the luckiest person on Earth to stay here.

But, seeing as I just saw a man with a horse's body, I think that this not being a dream is sort of a long shot.

I sighed, and gazed at the fire for the longest time as the sky got darker and darker all around me. I seemed to be the only one who noticed. Everyone else was stuck in either a conversation, or the music. There was nothing wrong with that, of course. It just showed how different they were from me.

Since I had no sane people to coincide with for most of my life, I found myself constantly giving up on the idea that to be happy you have to focus on people. Usually, I'd just focus on things. Like the bright blue sky, or the stars at night. Or even the way the shadows cast away off of the barred windows in the afternoon. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Darren silently offered to share his songbook with me, while the rest of the cabin took a brief break in order to decide which song to play next. Maybe that was the sign I was looking for; telling me that people are more important than environments. Despite that, I smiled politely while I turned him down, and I told him that I'm not a very good singer. It was a lie.

I sang in the school chorus this year so that I could take an easy class. And I was right about that one, too. I was so glad that one of my teachers last year had strongly recommended that I should try it. Originally, it wasn't about me, though. It was a plot set up by the teachers to try to get my mom to come into school and sign her CDs for them. They _idolize _my mom.

I, personally, wouldn't go that far.

My mom is-_different, _and by different I mean that she's an overly emotional drug user who tends to overdose once in a while, and even landed herself in rehab once. My mom was the one who disowned me when I was just about five because I began to see monsters. Now that I'm older, I realize how hypocritical she was for doing so since _she_ was the one who once hallucinated that the house was on fire, and made us all evacuate, only to embarrass ourselves in front of the neighbors.

As much as I hate to admit it, I wonder where she is now. Not out of love, just out of curiosity. I wonder if Haley's with her. I wonder if Haley's even okay…

Sometimes, I even wonder about my father. I wonder what he looks like, and where he is, and I even wonder why he'd fall for someone like my mother. I wonder if he ever thinks about me and Hales, even though Haley isn't his own daughter. He probably has another daughter to replace me…

Thinking about that makes me feel some weird tingling sensation in the pit of my stomach, right underneath my belly button. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to try to make it go away.

That's when I felt someone grab my shoulder and shake me. It was Darren, and he had a look of urgency on his face. "Joaitha!" He said frantically. He shook me harder.

I snapped back into the real world quickly to find everyone staring at me. People were even pushing through the crowd to get a closer look at me. My eyes grew wider by the second, and my heart began to pound. I had also never been this confused in my entire life.

I could see Percy and Annabeth a few rows below, cutting through the crowd rapidly, their jaws dropped. Then, I noticed that _everyone's _jaws were dropped.

"He _wasn't_ kidding," Said Percy, perplexed.

"W-what's going on?" I murmured to Darren, my voice shaking with fear. He didn't answer right away, he just stared at the air above my head.

I looked up then, to see a ball of green light, with a floating trident in the middle of it. I blinked hard. It was still there. I even pinched myself, and it still wouldn't disappear.

"You're being claimed," Darren said, still looking up above my head. And then he gulped. "By Poseidon."

**A/N: Thank you SO much for reading this! This is still my first fanfic, so make sure you review, so you can tell me all the things I'm doing wrong so I can get better. Thanks again! –sarahliz **


	3. I Get Crushed

**3. I Get Crushed.**

I felt like I was having a nervous breakdown.

And no, it wasn't just in my head. Every muscle in my body seemed to be tingling, and that included my brain. It must have been literally spinning around my head at full force, because my head was throbbing and felt light.

If I could have, I definitely would have run for it. But unfortunately, I was frozen. I wasn't sure if it was from being claimed by a higher power, or if it was from all of the people who stared at me because of that. Maybe it was a little bit of both. All I knew was, that I wanted to get out of there; in fact I _needed _to get out of there as quickly as possible, but I couldn't. My feet were seemingly glued to the ground. I closed my eyes, trying to snap myself out of this trance.

I thought about Haley. What would she do if _she _was ever in my situation? I couldn't place her in my situation though, because Haley would never even come _close_ to being like me. Mom liked Haley. Haley lives with her dad. Haley is considered mentally stable. Haley is _normal_.

Just then, I felt someone touch lay a hand on my shoulder gently. It was just Percy, but it was like he'd broken the spell I was just under. It was about time, too. I hated thinking about my past life, even though at some points I missed it. It just made my current life all the more difficult.

My eyes sprung open, like they were electrically wired to react at Percy's touch. He stepped back from me once he got my attention. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but the words just wouldn't come out. He was as speechless as I was.

Nice to know someone was in the same boat, for once.

Finally, after a few moments of just staring at each other like we each had three heads, Annabeth stepped up and spoke up for Percy, and gave me an excuse to leave. "Hello? Seaweed Brain?" She said to Percy, waving a hand in his face, and snapping her fingers obnoxiously to get his attention, "Why don't you show your sister around before she _runs away_ again?" She shot me a significant look.

"Oh, about that…" I began to say.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Percy said, cutting me off, and still staring at me.

Annabeth began to walk away, but I took a sideways step in front of her, cutting her off. Percy had followed me, and was now standing behind the two of us.

When I'd cut Annabeth off, I'd been thinking that it was a good idea. It was a smooth way to make her listen to me, and everything would be fine. Now that I'd done it, judging by the glare I was now receiving from her, I wasn't so sure.

"I'm sorry," I said as confidently as I could manage, to Percy and Annabeth. "I just got worked up. I didn't mean to run off like that, it was rude." They didn't say anything. They just slowly made eye contact with each other, as if they were deciding whether or not to forgive me, and then looked back at me with blank expressions. "That's not an excuse though. I should have…"

Annabeth put her hand up, facing me, as if to stop me from apologizing. "It's all right," She said, and Percy nodded in agreement. "Now, go with Percy," She told me, "He'll explain everything. But if he doesn't-which, I personally don't think he will-come find me." Annabeth smiled at him, indicating that she was just kidding around.

"Hey!" Percy said with a small defensively joking grin, "Are you telling her not to trust me?"

"No, I'm just saying how you're not very experienced, when_ I_ am." Annabeth laughed, and then pushed both of our shoulders away from her. "Now, _go_!" She said with a smile, and so we went.

Once we were far enough away from the theater, I started firing off questions. I decided to ditch the 'best for last' theory, and asked all of my important questions first. Like, where do_ I_ sleep? _In cabin three. _Why three? Why not some random number, like 13? _Because you were claimed by Poseidon, you sleep in cabin 3. _(At this point, Percy seemed to be getting a little annoyed with me, but that didn't phase me one bit) He seemed to tackle all of my questions with ease, saying that I'm _actually_ the daughter of a sea god, and he's _actually_ my brother. Go figure.

Finally I asked the question that had been biting me ever since we'd left the theater. "Why did Annabeth say you don't know what you're talking about?" I decided to summarize it, and I'm not sure Percy liked that too much, but he answered me anyway.

"It's because I only have one other sibling beside you," Percy explained. "Annabeth has many. We're both head counselors of our cabins, but she usually gets all of the action because she's in charge of a big cabin. I'm only in charge of myself and Tyson, if not just myself…"

"Why's that?" I asked, clearly yanking him out of a deep thought.

"Why's what?" He asked, and I clarified it for him.

"Why does Annabeth have a lot of siblings, and you-_we_-don't?"

I hadn't realized where we were walking until Percy began to devise ways to explain this to me in his head. We were standing in front of a large cabin, that was right next to some water. Percy opened the door, and let me in first. He flicked on the lights.

"You might as well sit down," He said, "This is going to take a while."

So I sat down on what was clearly Percy's bed, since it was sloppily made, and had a few books entitled _Sword Fighting for the Beyond Advanced, _and _Extreme Rock Climbing for Dummies. _Percy swept them out of the way and sat down next to me.

"We weren't supposed to be born." Percy said. I smirked at him like I was joking, but his face didn't budge. He wasn't kidding. Why hadn't I seen this coming?

I could see why_ I_ wasn't supposed to be born, since I had always been a mistake, something undesirable. But _Percy_? He seemed like a cool guy…

"Wait," I said, "What do you mean?"

He cleared his throat, just for the effect. "Here's how it went;" He began, "Our dad, Poseidon, is one of what's called the 'Big Three' or the three most powerful gods. Since they were the most powerful gods, they would have the most powerful demigod children, like us,"

I pointed to myself, in disbelief. Percy nodded and laughed. "It's not all fun, Jo." He said, while still laughing, "If you haven't noticed, the more powerful you are, the more things try to kill you."

"I can't argue with that one," I said, with a slight grin as I had a flashback to earlier today. That already seemed like forever ago.

"_Anyway,"_ Percy continued, "The children of the 'Big Three' caused the two world wars, so after World War Two, they all made a pact with each other that they wouldn't have any more half-blood children."

"So Poseidon broke the pact," I said slowly, piecing it all together, "Twice."

Percy nodded. "Yeah, but Zeus broke it twice too…" He pointed out matter-of-factly. A big crack of thunder rumbled outside. I jumped about two feet into the air. Percy looked up at the ceiling. "Maybe I shouldn't have pointed that out…" He said.

"They can _hear_ you?" I asked, my eyes wide in amazement. This was other worldly. But of course, these were _gods_ we were dealing with.

"Of course," He said, "They can always hear you," He looked down at the floor, and then back up at me. "Well, unless they're not listening…And apparently Zeus is," He added, looking up at the ceiling again, but maybe he was really looking in the general direction of whatever was above it.

"Why would Zeus be listening to _you?"_ I asked curiously.

"Zeus doesn't particularly like me…" Percy whispered, so I let it drop. I didn't want Zeus after me as well. That seemed like a bad break.

Percy then got up and set up a place for me to sleep. Now, three of the four beds in the cabin were taken, even though this Tyson guy wasn't even here. Percy said he'd be here in a few days, though, but our father keeps him really busy under the water, apparently.

"Don't be freaked out," Percy said rather casually while setting up my bed. I walked over to the other side of the cabin to help him, and he continued. "Tyson's kind of a Cyclops."

"A _what?"_ I asked, but right then the door swung open, speak of the devil. I suddenly knew what Percy was talking about. It was a big, tall, brawny guy, and he seemed kind of scary as it was just because of his size. Add in his single, solitary eye, and you get terrified, if you're me. I found myself frozen once again as Tyson stepped through the doorway.

"Brother!" He said, and bounded for Percy. He gave him a huge bear hug, lifting Percy's feet practically off of the ground.

"Cant. Breathe…" Percy said, struggling to gasp in air. Tyson smiled genuinely, and let Percy go.

"Sorry brother," He said, "I missed you." Suddenly, Tyson didn't seem all that scary to me anymore. His eye flitted around the room until it landed on me. Percy seemed to read his mind, and introduced us to each other.

"Joaitha, this is Tyson. He came sooner than I thought," He added with a smile, "Tyson, this is our sister, Joaitha."

Tyson's whole face lit up. "_Sister?"_ He asked excitedly. He looked like one of those kids on those corny commercials who have just been told that they're going to Disney World. Except, multiply that ten times, and you get Tyson's reaction.

He unexpectedly grabbed me, and gave me one of those bear hugs. "Oh, yeah, Jo," Percy said as I was politely gasping for air, "Tyson's a hugger."

"I. Can. See. That…" I gasped. That literally took all my might. To my relief, Tyson finally let me go after that.

Tyson moved himself back into the cabin, and then began telling us stories about his adventures under the sea. He told us about what our father was up to-and he was busy as usual, according to Tyson, although Poseidon wouldn't exactly tell him what he was doing down there. "He told me not to worry about it," Tyson said, shrugging it off.

From all of these stories, I began to wonder what my father was like. He seemed powerful, but you'd expect that. He's _Poseidon. _But he also seemed kind of-gentle too, in a way.

Both Percy and Tyson seemed to miss their dad. I only wished I could share in the experience, just for the sake of having a father to miss. I guess I was halfway there now…All I had to do was find out a way to miss Poseidon.

And someone like Poseidon is hard to miss in many different ways.

**A/N: I can't thank you enough for reading this. I've worked really, really hard on this for a long time! Please review this no matter if you love it or hate it, please just tell me how you feel! Thank you sssooooo much! Expect a new chapter probably in the next week. **


	4. My Dream Mom Gets Drunk

**4. My Dream Mom Gets Drunk**

I had a really weird dream that night. I mean, _really_ weird.

It started off at sunset, at some kind of cliff-side cave. The sky was a beautiful orange, dotted with small wispy pink clouds. There was deep water, literally right under me, where the cliff jetted out. I was just standing there alone. A calm, cool breeze ran through my hair, and I could smell the thick essence of the salt from the ocean below me.

I could see two people conversing outside the cave, in the distance, but I couldn't tell exactly who they were. I never met them; I hadn't even seen them before in my life…or so I thought…This was kind of weird, since they say that most of the time dreams portray faces you've seen before in your life. But that didn't really matter now, I guessed.

I turned around, and walked toward the cave just because I kind of felt like I had no choice. Something was _making _me walk toward that cave. Something was controlling me like a puppet on strings.

But then again, It wasn't like I was really there. It just seemed like I was.

I entered the dark cave, full of creepy stalagmites and stalactites that made my stomach feel light. I wasn't afraid since it was only a dream, but this place sure was eerie…

I found the two people once again, and I hid behind a large rock so that they wouldn't know I was there.

"Mom," One of them said, "There's no way out, I've already checked. They've trapped us."

The mother groaned disgustedly. Her speech was slurred. "There has to be a way out…" She said drunkenly, "Don't they know who I am?"

They started to come closer to me, and I could almost recognize them. I could have sworn one of them looked like my sister, despite the fact that I hadn't seen her in about eight years. I crawled out from behind the rock halfway, as quietly as I could so that I could get a closer look.

"I really don't think they care who you are, Mom." The younger of the two said. I realized how long they must have been stuck here because they looked and smelled like they hadn't showered in days. Remarkably, the drunken mom was gripping a wine bottle, even though they were in the middle of nowhere.

"Of_ course_ they do, honey," The mom said, and almost slipped on the watery floor. "_Everyone _knows who I am,"

"Right…" The daughter said, and they were now three feet away from me. I could have sworn that the girl was my sister Haley. I mean, she looked just like her, just way older…So that would mean the conceited drunk would have to be my mother.

I shifted my weight, and Haley suddenly froze and her eyes darted around the cave. "Stay still," She whispered loudly, "I think they're coming back…"

Who was coming back?

"I bet this is _Joaitha's _doing…" Now I knew this was my mother, and I was instantly reminded of why I hated her. "That girl was never any good."

"_Mother!"_ Haley practically shouted, only in a whisper. Good for her. Nice to know someone was actually on my side.

That's when something grumbled loudly, and Haley scrambled into a crevice into the wall dragging my drunk mother with her. Then there were footsteps. And they kept getting closer, and closer, and louder and louder…I, myself was really scared as well.

I searched frantically through all of my pockets for my penny but it wasn't there. Tears of fear streamed down my face, and I muffled a scream with my hand.

I'd never been so afraid in my life.

Then, I felt water hit my face. I screamed louder.

"Jo!" Percy yelled. I opened my eyes, right as water hit my face again. "Tyson, she's awake," Percy mumbled.

"Oh," Tyson replied, placing a third cup full of water back onto a night stand. "Sorry,"

I sat up, alert, and kind of surprised that I found myself back in cabin 3.

"W-what?" I stammered, while half awake. Percy backed away from me, with a devilish grin on his face.

"Have a bad dream?" He asked with a slight chuckle.

I nodded silently. My eyes flitted puzzled around the room.

"Did it seem real?" He asked me.

"How did you know?" I muttered, surprised.

"Well, everyone here has dreams like that." He explained coolly, taking a sip out of the water that wasn't poured over my head. "What was it about?" He asked me nonchalantly.

I explained the entire thing to him, starting with how I was standing on the cliff above the ocean. He asked me to describe the setting a little bit more, so I did. Then, he got this graven expression on his face like we were in ultimate deadly peril since my dream took place on some desolate cliff.

He probably was one of those psychos who are obsessed with those books that are like dictionaries, where you look up something that was in your dream and it describes what it means…

Like right now he was probably figuring that since I was standing on a cliff I was suicidal…

I mean, that's how it goes, right?

Ugh. I've spent way too much time at Cahill.

Anyway, I explained the entire thing. Like how I found out that my mother and sister were trapped there, and my mother was drunk. I even added my thoughts on how sorry I was for my poor unfortunate sister…since she was trapped there with my mother.

"…And it seemed real?" Percy repeated, this time, there was a note of fear in his voice.

"Yeah," I said, my eyes slightly narrowed. I wanted to know what he was up to. There was a note of confusion in my voice, which I had strummed purposely. "I just told you that…" I added.

He ignored my last statement, rose, and rushed over to the window nervously. He gazed out the window, as Tyson finished off what was left of that water that wasn't poured on my head.

Percy ran his fingers through his hair, and turned to me. "We have to go see Rachel," He said.

**A/N: Thanks for reading/reviewing! It's what keeps me writing! =)  
>I also need some help… I'm having trouble coming up with a prophecy! So if you're wicked clever and suuper cool, and you can come up with one for me, please leave one and I may use itparts of it in the next chapter! THANKS! =) **


	5. I'm Sold Out For a Shrink

**A/N: **

**Hey everyone! Bet you're surprised to see a new chapter for this story! I know I am. The last time I touched this story, I was a sophomore in high school, and now, 10 days before college I finally updated this. The truth is, the reason why I abandoned this story in the first place was because I didn't know where to take it. I had no idea how to weave a story centered around an OC and still have it be true to greek mythology (about which I am not very savvy) and the original text. (Rick Riordan is a genius by the way.) But then I read a few reviews by a Guest reviewer named Ginger, and they singlehandedly inspired me to do some research and continue. So rest assured, to all of you who are still reading this after three years, thank you, and even if it takes another three years, this will not be the end of Joaitha Harris!**

**So… I know it's short (I'm working on that :p) but enjoy!**

**And _PLEASE_ let me know how I did, how I can improve, and any ideas or constructive criticism you may have for me. Like many writers on this site, along with having an opportunity to continue these stories we all enjoy, I am also here to improve the quality of my writing. So don't hold back :]**

**Well, I've said enough. Here's the new chapter!**

**Five. **  
>"<em>Rachel?<em>" I asked loudly, with my eyes wide, and my jaw gaping as if someone had stuck a bowling ball in my mouth. A chill went up my spine, being that I was once again reminded of my disturbing life at Cahill.

"Please don't tell me that you're sending me to a therapist. I _swear_ I don't need one. It was _just a nightmare_… and like you said, _everyone _here has dreams like that. Please don't do that to me…" I pleaded with him quietly and reasonably. I figured that it would be the best way to get out of going to see a stupid therapist. Or to get out of anything at all.

I'm serious. In my experience, it really works.

Try it sometime.

Anyway…I deeply resented therapists, as you might imagine, and I resented them even more than I hated my own mother. (And I bet you can't imagine that.)

At Cahill, they forced me to see one every single day. My therapist's name was Drilla Ream, and she was an old, tired woman who seemed like she wasn't all that interested in her job anymore, and was probably counting down the days to her retirement. She would interrogate me about the things I saw, like the monsters, and then she would ask how they made me feel. After a while, I would begin to lie about the monsters that attacked me just so that I wouldn't have to have sessions. Not that it really helped all that much, with someone as unmotivated as Drilla was, there's no such thing as progress.

So, the last time Drilla saw me, there was no huge fire-breathing bat hiding in my closet, waiting to eat my face. If you asked her, the most eventful thing that had gone on in my life lately was the time when I sang a wrong note in choir class, and my teacher almost stabbed me with her conductor's stick. Except it wasn't really my teacher. It was some weird-looking bird thing that I proceeded to skewer with my Joaitha penny, in front of my terror-stricken classmates. But it was all good, because as per usual they forgot about everything almost immediately. Figures.

I gripped my neck, still imagining what that would have felt like as I remembered that I wasn't at Cahill anymore. I was at Camp Something-or-other, and I'd gained two brothers who seemed to think that I was in dire need of a therapist once again.

My eyes flitted from brother to brother, wondering which one would respond first. They were both straight-faced. Their expressions were blank, until Tyson's face eventually broke out into a smile. "Rachel is nice," He said, before patting me on the shoulder. Great, I thought. That's what they always said. An ideal therapist's disposition was always "nice."

I realized that Percy was staring at me, watching me carefully. I glared at him, mentally willing him to stop making me feel like an alien invader. To my horrified surprised, he started laughing at me. My face turned red and hot, and I could tell that it wouldn't be long before I lost my temper. It took all of my might to restrain myself. Killing my half brother probably wouldn't go over well with a therapist.

Percy was chortling loudly. It was annoying. He had said something to Tyson in between laughter, but I hadn't been paying attention enough to realize what it was. Apparently the laughter was infectious, because it quickly spread to my Cyclops brother.

This only infuriated me further. "What. Is. So. _Funny_?" I demanded through my teeth. So this is what it was like to have brothers. It was definitely not what I'd imagined in my own little messed up world.

They continued with their rumbling laughter for another moment before Percy composed himself enough to reply. "Rachel isn't a _therapist_, Jo." He said. "Well, not in the modern sense of the word, anyway," I narrowed my eyes in a way that pushed him to elaborate. "She's…," He stifled another rude chuckle at my expense, "…Well, you'll see,"

I just rolled my eyes. See, what he didn't know was that I was used to having things kept from me. Yes, it bothered me, but it wasn't like I'd ever let him know. That would just make matters worse. So instead of arguing with my new brothers about how mean they were to laugh at me like this, I just stood up, turned my back, and walked out the door.

It wasn't long before I heard Percy's voice and matching footsteps catching up from behind me. "Oh no," He said with a sarcastic-looking smirk, "You are _not_ doing this again." He grabbed my arm and started dragging me back to our cabin.

"Hey!" I yelled defensively, as I tried to yank my arm away from him. It was no use. He was too strong. When we got to the door, he finally let go, but as I tried to escape, he grabbed my shoulders firmly with his big hands.

We made a harsh eye contact. Suddenly I got the gross feeling that he was trying to be the father that we didn't really have. …Or that I never really had, at least.

I shuddered.

"I know you don't want to do this, Jo," My brother lectured. I noticed that there was some kind of fire in his green eyes that I hadn't noticed before. It was then when I realized that he wasn't fooling around anymore. "…but you have to listen to me." He paused, and I gulped. "I know this is really scary for you. It was terrifying for me too, but you can't run away from it. These things are _everywhere,_ Jo. The monsters, and all of these problems you're having are _everywhere_, and they never go away. You can either run away and let them chase you, or you can stay here where you're safe and learn how to fight them. I know we just met, but Tyson and I are here for you. That's what brothers are for. But you have to trust us, Jo. We can help you,"

I swallowed, and nodded once, before silently slipping back into Cabin three. I sat down on my bed and stared down at my hands in my lap. My brothers stared at me without words. "I just don't get it," I murmured to myself, but loud enough for them to hear.

Percy sat beside me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Neither do we," He replied, "And that's why you need to see Rachel."


End file.
